GWR
25-01-08, 09:30 AM
Energy costs change transport patterns
Friday, January 25, 2008
The China Post news staff
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Soaring gasoline prices and stagnating incomes are combining to transform transport patterns in Taiwan, especially in the Greater Taipei area.
Taipei public transportation systems are attracting more customers as more financially pinched wage earners strive to save money.
Many motorists, who used to ride motorcycles, have given up driving and going back to scooters or even bicycles.
People opting for walking to work or on daily errands are also on the rise.
According to statistics from the Taipei City government, the public transportation systems in the Greater Taipei area now serve over 2.8 million people per day, including 1.68 million taking buses and 1.12 million riding mass rapid transit (MRT).
The latest survey of 1,027 residents in the region Jan. 21-22 showed as many as 24.5 percent of people changed their transport means in 2007 due to rising gas prices and higher overall cost of living.
Motorists who gave up driving for the MRT network accounted for 26.4 percent, followed by 23.5 percent of drivers changing to motorcycles, 13.3 percent to buses, 1.9 percent to walking, and 0.6 percent to biking.
Motorcyclists who stopped using scooters and switched to the MRT network last year accounted for 12.1 percent, followed by 4.7 percent to buses, 4.7 percent to bicycles, and 1.5 percent to walking.
Motorcycles remain the most popular form of transport, chosen by 28.8 percent of people for convenience and relatively lower maintenance costs, followed by the MRT network at 25 percent; buses and private cars, 21.1 percent each; and taxicabs, 2 percent.
Officials pointed out how the MRT network gained most as people who choose the system increased by 9 percent in 2007 from 2006, compared with a rise of 5 percent for buses.
Statistics show that for the month of December last year, the 74.4-kilometer MRT network served 1.265 million customers every day.
The figure represented a steep rise of 315,000 people or 33 percent from January of the same year.
The officials attributed the sharp increase to the soaring oil price and the extension of the MRT network.
They believe the number of people opting for the MRT network will continue higher growth rates than other forms of transport as more new lines are added to the extensive web of MRT lines.
Meanwhile, climbing gas prices and the increased service of the high-speed rail system on the west coast are also cutting down on the number of vehicles on the freeway system despite the opening of Freeway No. 3 linking Taipei and Yilan in September last year.
Figures compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) show the first decrease in the number of vehicles running on the freeways in 30 years.
Vehicles trips on freeways reduced 5.5 million last year, representing a drop of 1 percent from the previous year while the toll fees collected also decreased by almost NT$60 million.
MOTC officials said vehicle trips on north-south Freeway No. 1, also known as Zhongshan Freeway named after the nation's Founding Father Sun Yat-sen, still registered a slight increase of 1 percent.
They attributed the rise to business travelers who still prefer to drive their own cars to visit various major metropolises along the island's oldest freeway for commercial purpose.
But Freeway No. 3, which connects more scenic areas, saw a drop of 8.52 percent in traffic volume.
The newly inaugurated north-south high-speed rail system is taking a greater toll on the domestic air flight service.
Airlines servicing the flight routes on the main Taiwan island have either suspended services or cut the number of flights due to a dwindling number of customers, as many now prefer to take the bullet trains.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2008/01/25/140442/Energy%2Dcosts.htm
Friday, January 25, 2008
The China Post news staff
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Soaring gasoline prices and stagnating incomes are combining to transform transport patterns in Taiwan, especially in the Greater Taipei area.
Taipei public transportation systems are attracting more customers as more financially pinched wage earners strive to save money.
Many motorists, who used to ride motorcycles, have given up driving and going back to scooters or even bicycles.
People opting for walking to work or on daily errands are also on the rise.
According to statistics from the Taipei City government, the public transportation systems in the Greater Taipei area now serve over 2.8 million people per day, including 1.68 million taking buses and 1.12 million riding mass rapid transit (MRT).
The latest survey of 1,027 residents in the region Jan. 21-22 showed as many as 24.5 percent of people changed their transport means in 2007 due to rising gas prices and higher overall cost of living.
Motorists who gave up driving for the MRT network accounted for 26.4 percent, followed by 23.5 percent of drivers changing to motorcycles, 13.3 percent to buses, 1.9 percent to walking, and 0.6 percent to biking.
Motorcyclists who stopped using scooters and switched to the MRT network last year accounted for 12.1 percent, followed by 4.7 percent to buses, 4.7 percent to bicycles, and 1.5 percent to walking.
Motorcycles remain the most popular form of transport, chosen by 28.8 percent of people for convenience and relatively lower maintenance costs, followed by the MRT network at 25 percent; buses and private cars, 21.1 percent each; and taxicabs, 2 percent.
Officials pointed out how the MRT network gained most as people who choose the system increased by 9 percent in 2007 from 2006, compared with a rise of 5 percent for buses.
Statistics show that for the month of December last year, the 74.4-kilometer MRT network served 1.265 million customers every day.
The figure represented a steep rise of 315,000 people or 33 percent from January of the same year.
The officials attributed the sharp increase to the soaring oil price and the extension of the MRT network.
They believe the number of people opting for the MRT network will continue higher growth rates than other forms of transport as more new lines are added to the extensive web of MRT lines.
Meanwhile, climbing gas prices and the increased service of the high-speed rail system on the west coast are also cutting down on the number of vehicles on the freeway system despite the opening of Freeway No. 3 linking Taipei and Yilan in September last year.
Figures compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) show the first decrease in the number of vehicles running on the freeways in 30 years.
Vehicles trips on freeways reduced 5.5 million last year, representing a drop of 1 percent from the previous year while the toll fees collected also decreased by almost NT$60 million.
MOTC officials said vehicle trips on north-south Freeway No. 1, also known as Zhongshan Freeway named after the nation's Founding Father Sun Yat-sen, still registered a slight increase of 1 percent.
They attributed the rise to business travelers who still prefer to drive their own cars to visit various major metropolises along the island's oldest freeway for commercial purpose.
But Freeway No. 3, which connects more scenic areas, saw a drop of 8.52 percent in traffic volume.
The newly inaugurated north-south high-speed rail system is taking a greater toll on the domestic air flight service.
Airlines servicing the flight routes on the main Taiwan island have either suspended services or cut the number of flights due to a dwindling number of customers, as many now prefer to take the bullet trains.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2008/01/25/140442/Energy%2Dcosts.htm